Half Love
by flor03
Summary: A story between two different people, having different definition of love. Romance w/ hurt. KikuXAlice AU. Salt duo.
1. Prologue

**Half Love**

 _Kiku and Alice story (JPXUK)_

Prologue:

'I was sure I heard it right.' I clenched my coat nervously as my boss continued to announce the bad news.

"As instructed by our chairman, this group will be dissolved. Only few people will be left here to look over branch activity. Most of you here will be sent to Headquarters for the turnover of duties, relieving your posts as office staff, and be ordinary branch staff on the later…" she continued.

It may not seem like it, but my boss was saddened with the news as well. And it seems I feel lucky for being safe.

I looked over to my colleagues and saw their restless faces. One of them haggled his arm around me and said, "Ah you're so lucky, Honda-san. You're not going anywhere!"

"Ah… It seems…" I sympathetically patted him. "I wish you all the best of luck." I let out my sadness with a soft sigh. They were indeed feeling restless.

Thinking about moving to another country frightens me, even if I knew they won't be staying there for too long. Once their purpose is done, they'll be brought back to their home country. It will come back to normal soon enough. This is temporary. I reassured them.

But I feel like it's too sudden. I was too shocked to even let out my reaction, even though my colleagues are rushing me for my response. I only gave them a nod as I mumble, "As long as everyone will be sent home after, then this is fine by me." Somehow, they all agree to that statement and gave themselves a pat on the shoulder.

'It will be fine.'

(^J^)

I went home after work and laid on my futon, staring at the ceiling blankly for a while. "I guess I won't be seeing most of them by next week…" I sighed heavily and rolled over to fix myself for a bath. Taking a bath helps relief my stress. I was relaxed as soon as I submerged myself with the warm water. I found myself staring out the window, wondering how everyone truly felt about the news this morning. Thinking about going to another country for work does sound like you're having a vacation at the same time. New scenery, new environment, new people… "It may sound exciting, but I rather stay here. I'm comfortable here. Besides, I couldn't afford to leave my family. Also, I recently made new friends. I want to be where I am now. I am fine. I am happy the way it's going right now. I don't want to change that."

I somehow empathize most of everyone's emotions so, I tried my best to comfort them. Even if turns awkward most of the time. I claimed to be soft spoken. As a man of culture, I respect everyone's personal opinions and offer myself an ear to listen. But I often find myself not saying anything.

Sometimes, I want them to figure out the answers to themselves. My words of wisdom were limited after all. Granted that it was not the help they expected from me.

I went to my parent's house one day and saw them watching the news on TV. A foreign channel for some foreign news. Coincidentally, it was about London. But my parent's have this distasteful look on their faces. With my curiosity, I asked for their opinion about the foreign land.

The words that were repeatedly said were—Scary, Dangerous, Troublesome, Not for the weak…

I guess I shouldn't have asked. They're too worried for their son to be out there to the unknown, even though I'm already an adult.

(^J^)

It was the farewell party and we had a feast. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Karaoke left and right. We vowed ourselves that we'll see each other soon despite the temporary reassignment.

"England you better prepare for us! We, Asians, will dominate!"

I laughed when my best colleague announces that. We seemed to have developed a stronger bond after a year of being together as a team. The hardships, failures, and success that we shared bounded us together. It felt like family.

"We'll see each other soon. Kanpai!" We raised our glass.

"Kanpai!" Everyone cheered.

(^J^)

I looked over my watch and saw that it was afternoon. "Alright, time to do my usual task." I opened my email and saw a message from the Headquarters, containing everyone's plane ticket details to England. 'This is weird. Why am I included?' I was puzzled so I scrolled down and to my fear—I saw something horrible.

"W-What?!" I exclaimed and sat up on my seat.

"What's wrong, Honda-san?" The colleague next to me asked cautiously and looked over to my computer screen. "No way! Y-You're included?"

"I-I…am lost of words. What is the meaning of this?" I feel like fainting at that very moment. It was too shocking for me.

With everyone receiving the same email as I have, they began to question the person in charge. The only explanation we have coming from the HR department—was a MISTAKE.

A mistake.

I can't believe they let it slide. And here I am rushing myself to get my things packed. "How troublesome…"

There was nothing I could do.

And so, I travelled to England with everyone. But I'm the one leaving with a heavy heart.

"Regrettable."

-End of Prologue-


	2. Chapter 1: How we saw each other

**Half Love**

Chapter 1: How we saw each other

Japan at Spring— ablaze with beautiful white and pink cherry blossom, celebrated with an increasingly popular festival. But it seems he will be missing out this years' festivities for he will be staying in a foreign land that is often gloomy. The streets were often moist, and the atmosphere was cold. Buildings were far different from his home country. Not to mention, most of the people he sees so far are tall.

"I feel like I've shrunk." Kiku mumbled as he dragged his luggage to the van with his colleagues.

"Since it's 7am, we're heading to work today. So, we go straight to the headquarters building. Your bags will be placed in your respective rooms. You can handle them after work." Their new supervisor, Elise announced.

Most of everyone were too embarrassed to even respond with a hint of complaint as they said, "Yes." In chorus.

Momentarily, they arrived at the Headquarters building. It wasn't that impressive as they thought it would be. The building itself just looked like any other ordinary building. 3 floors in total but was spacious enough to fit 200 employees inside.

The new comers were dressed in corporate uniform; black pants and coat, shoes should be visibly shiny and 3 inches heels for the ladies. They seemed too formal for a Military corporation. But they were praised of how decent looking they were. Spick and span. It was the soldier's pride.

They were escorted to the board room to present themselves. All 16 of them.

"Permission to enter, sir." Elise spoke loud and clear.

"Permission granted." A voice responded, and the doors were opened.

Elise entered first, and the sixteen staffs followed from behind lined themselves neatly and bowed deeply. The board of directors, who are all retired military officers, stood up and bowed back. And they were asked to introduce themselves, one by one. But was interrupted when someone made a commentary, "You all looked so young. Makes me wonder if you're all adults."

With that, they nervously laugh. "We are, Mr Samson, sir." Kiku responded in their behalf.

"What's your name, young lad?" Mr Samson asked.

"My name is Honda Kiku. Age 25." Kiku bowed.

"I'm surprised you, Japanese people, learnt English well. I do hope you don't mind staying here for a couple of months." The chairman chuckled and stood up. "We do hope you understand the situation in our company. The assignment is very easy after all. Also, I hope you'll get along with your fellow co-workers here." The man smiled and sooner, he dismissed them.

Elise escorted them to various cubicles and were being placed in their respective departments.

Kiku was put on the Operations Department. There he met the people who he gave his reports with. It felt awkward for Kiku but he managed to hide his nervousness and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kiku was left behind with his old team and have a new one. All ten of them were staring at Kiku with genuine awe. "He looks so cute in person." A tall woman with long hair approaches him and shook both hands. "My name is Camille. Nice to meet you too."

"H-Hai. I mean, yes. Er…" Kiku was too flustered to act normally.

(^J^)

After a seemingly long day, Kiku went to their dorm late and saw his luggage placed inside the room with his other colleague. "Hey, I guess we're going to be roommates for three weeks." He nervously laughs.

"Three weeks? Aren't we staying here, Kai-san?" Kiku asked with a tired look.

"Nope. I heard we can only stay here for three weeks and then, it's up to us to look for a dorm ourselves. The place does look luxurious, so I guess they didn't want their own employees to use it that long." Kai started to fold his clothes and placed neatly on the closet.

"How regrettable…" Kiku sighed tiredly and crashed on his tall bed, not his futon anymore.

Kai just laughed at Kiku's response. "Too tired?"

"I am tired to think about it now. I need to relax." He stared blankly for a while before getting up to take a bath, only to realize they don't have a bath tub but a shower. He sighed again. "This will do…" But deep in his mind, he wanted to give up. Maybe just numb the pain away and sleep his worries out.

(^J^)

Weeks passed by and it seems Kiku was getting tired of adjusting himself with the new environment. Food was different, language barrier, and even culture shock. He was too overwhelmed that he couldn't take it all in at the same time. Despite having a roommate, he still felt lonely. 'I think I'm home sick…' Kiku sighed and gazed at the window alone in his room. Today was weekend and wanted to do something fun or productive. 'Oh right… I need to find a dorm. We're moving out next week.' He sighed and went out to look for one.

He only had his phone and recommendations from his co-workers to rely on his search. His old team however, decided to get an apartment that will fit all of 16 people. Being with them last week and saw the apartment, he wasn't satisfied with it. He felt like it was too narrow for sixteen people to fit in, but it was the cheapest they could find. They plan on moving out next week but Kiku decided to look further by his own.

He almost walked aimlessly on the streets, hoping for any signs that says "Room for rent" or a better apartment. He saw the ones that his coworkers recommended and find it appealing. It was a little expensive, but he can afford it. But at the same time, he didn't want to let his team down by living separately with them. Kiku was torn between living spaciously or narrowly. He was sure he didn't want to live anything less, so he would choose living alone.

"Even the smallest problem became big. Quite a troublesome but there's nothing I can do." He didn't want to complain much but he's been feeling exhausted. "I can't freely do my hobbies. Even drawing became difficult."

He looked left and right but couldn't find any. He was starting to feel unwell, so he went to a café to take a break. He ordered himself some hot tea since it's been cold around London. For Kiku, he wasn't feeling too alienated since there are a lot of different kinds of people from different countries. He even met other Asians besides his own. He could almost tell if a person is a tourist or a resident by just observing their behavior. Quite a weird talent but he knew it can be useful someday.

He sipped his tea quietly. He looked around and saw that most of the people inside are chatting and drinking coffee, so much energy coming out from them. 'I feel like an old man at times. Maybe I should fit in too.' He took out his phone and scrolled around Facebook.

'Hm… Oh, this looks interesting.' Kiku found a post about an upcoming Anime event held in a park. It's a small gathering but it does looks interesting. Any anime related stuff was Kiku's favorite thing in the world. "But wait, if I go will they recognize me as an adult? Hm… I guess they won't if I cosplay. Fufufu." Kiku chuckled at the thought and marked the date. Acquaintances

(^J^)

'Ah, it's Friday. Tomorrow's the event.' Kiku was feeling excited already. He couldn't keep it in that his face was glowing, making it almost unusual for his new team to see.

"Kiku, you seemed to be in a good mood." Joan asked as she leaned back on her chair.

"I do? Well, I guess it's the fact that it's Friday." Kiku replied.

"You have somewhere to go, don't you~?" Camille teased.

Having that said made Kiku flustered all the sudden and it sent shivers. "Eto…maybe."

"Hah! I was right." Camille made a cheek grin and attempted to interrogate him more. "Where are you going? Oh, are you going to tour around London by yourself?"

"Uhm...ano…" Kiku felt cornered.

"Camille don't interrogate him like that. Just leave the man do his own thing." Pauline shoved Camille's face away.

Kiku was saved and thanked her. "Arigato guzaimasu…"

Pauline let out a sighed and told him, "You should practice your English a little more."

"My apologies…" Kiku bowed apologetically and left to print some documents. His English was not really that good, but he can still manage to have a conversation. The thought about it made him worry about going to that gathering. 'What if I'll get bullied by it? Do you think this is a good idea?' His excitement disappeared and was now replaced with insecurity.

(^J^)

Pondering over as to what to cosplay, he decided to go as a casual punk dude from the anime that he liked. He figured if he's dressed up as a punk guy no one would strike a conversation with him. He wanted to observe first before engaging himself with the others. "Do you think you're getting old for this kind of stuff?" He sighed as he stared at himself with the get up on him. Still haven't put on the wig and just wore a hat. 'Well, you've done this several times in Japan. Why feeling shy now? Man up! You've waited for this day to come. Don't back out now.' Kiku motivated himself and went out to the meet up.

Kiku was not familiar with the location, since it's located in a different city. He took a taxi, told the driver to take him to this park with his GPS on. The ride lasted for almost an hour. The driver dropped him somewhere near the location. It was near a police station. Regardless, it was fine by him and paid. Kiku looked around to find any sight of cosplayers around. But couldn't find any. 'Strange. Maybe I should walk straight to the meet up place.'

He used Google Maps to locate the meet up place, but he can't seem to find it "Hmm…odd." He's been walking around for 20 minutes and was getting tired. His legs were tired, and he was running late too. 'I think I need help.' He managed to contact a friend.

"Kiku, where are you now?" His friend Haruka asked.

"I can't tell but I'm somewhere near a building with many restaurants."

"Can't you be more specific? Where are you going by the way?"

"To the green park—"

"Eh, you've gone too far from there! You need to get to Ramenji. It's near there."

"Hai. I'll get back to you. Thank you." Kiku stood up again and finally saw someone. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where's Ramenji?"

"Ramenji? I'm sorry I'm not familiar with that. But there's a ramen place near the police station over there." The tall man pointed out.

'Police station…. Oh.' Kiku suddenly realized something. "Thank you very much." He bowed politely to the man and left. As he ran to the police station, and went to the other side of the road, he finally saw the restaurant and the park that he was looking for. "I went the other way all this time…" He was out of shape. 'I sure hope my make up hasn't ruined yet.' He was panting and went inside the park. He saw a bunch of cosplayers sitting on the grass under a shade of a tree and looked like they were eating lunch.

Kiku slowly approached them, clearly out of breath. "Hi…"

One of them noticed his presence while munching his fries. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I got lost though. But I'm here. Excuse me, let me catch my breath first." Kiku panted and rested his hands on his waist.

"Take your time." The blonde man with glasses leaned in to one of his friends and stood up. "He'll escort you to the comfort room if you want to touch up."

"I see. Thank you very much." Kiku bowed and was escorted.

He went to the male bathroom and freshen up with some body powder, cologne and retouch his make-up. Then finally put on his blonde wig. He looked even more cool. His black shirt and tight jeans fitted his slim figure perfectly. And with his punkish accessories added his coolness. He looked like an entirely different person. Although he was still feeling uneasy. He went out of the comfort room and saw the guy escorting him.

"You look cool." He said.

Kiku felt a slight blush appeared on his cheek and laughs nervously. "Thank you. Shall we go?"

They headed back to the park. But to Kiku's surprise, the escort who was with him pulled his collar playfully and was dragged. "E-EH?"

The guy chuckled, and everyone seemed to notice their playful act. "Sorry but I wanted to do that."

"I-It's fine. Haha…" Kiku laughed and looked at everyone. He suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Introduce yourself, dude." The cosplayer with glasses urged him.

"It's a pleasure meeting you all. I'm Kiku." Kiku bowed and smiled.

"Kiku. Is that your real name?" A girl asked.

"Hai." Kiku replied.

"Dude, you're Japanese? That's awesome! I'm Alfred by the way. Anyway dude, come and eat with us. Oh wait, we don't have enough food." Alfred laughed nervously.

"We can just take him to McDonalds and let him eat there?" His friend, Arthur, suggested.

"That's a great idea. Arthur will escort you again to McDonalds and come back after you eat, yeah?"

"If it's not much trouble..." Kiku bowed apologetically.

"It's fine. Besides, we also have a newcomer here too. You both need to eat. We'll start the games as soon as you guys come back." Alfred smiled and escorted the newcomer as well.

Kiku meet up with the newcomer. "Hello, I'm Kiku. What's your name?"

"I'm Emil." The boy was shy looking and they both shakes hands.

"Well, time to take you both to McDonalds." Arthur urged them to move out and they followed from behind. The three of them were all quiet. But it was comforting. 'I assume we're all introverts.' Kiku was pleased with the comforting silence. But he figured he should be friendly with them and started to talk.

"I assume you guys like anime?"

"Yes, that's why we're here." Arthur just smiled. The both looked over at Emil, hoping he'll open.

"Uhm...yes, I do too." Emil responded and smiled back. They arrived at McDonalds and they both ate. Kiku and Emil looked like they were having a good conversation. "You're so nice, you know that? I haven't got a good conversation in a long time." Emil confessed.

Kiku was surprised and smiled. "Fufu. I'm glad you're having a good time."

"I feel like I'm the youngest in the gathering. I still go with my parents." Emil looked uncomfortable for some reason.

"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Kiku was curious.

"I'm fourteen. My brother helped me get here. What about you?" Emil asked.

Kiku felt a little nervous and laughed a bit. "Uhm...let's just say I'm already working."

Emil looked surprised. "You mean, you're around twenties?" And Kiku nodded in response. "What?! You looked young! I thought you're a teenager."

Kiku laughed at his genuine reaction. "I've been told that a lot. But maybe it's because of my Asian genes."

"Are you two done eating?" Arthur suddenly interrupted them. "I'm sorry but we need to hurry." He sighed.

"Oh." The two of them hurriedly ate and rushed back to the park.

(^J^)

"We're back, love." Arthur went up to Alfred.

"Alright. We can start having a shoot while everyone is touching up. Kiku, can you stand over that rock over there?" Alfred pointed.

"Here?" Kiku stood there as he was told.

"Yes. Now, give me your best pose!" Alfred took out the camera with excitement.

"H-Hai? Uhm..." Kiku was shy but still gave out a pose as he can while Alfred started to take his picture.

"Woah Kiku! I'm amazed. You look really great on your cosplay." Alfred continued to take some more photos.

"Er...love? I think everyone is done. We can start the game." Arthur nudged Alfred to stop.

"Oh." Alfred eventually stopped and turned to everyone. "Okay guys, gather around here. We're about to start the game." The participants gathered under the shade as they commenced the game. It was quizzes about their favorite anime and the winners won cute stickers as prices. It may look like just a small gathering, but they had a lot of fun.

The next game they did was charades. Kiku was tasked to lead the team. "Feliciano, Amelia, Ivan...you're on my team."

"Let's do our best, Kiku~." Feliciano cheered.

"Our moderator looks a little serious, don't you think?" Ivan whispered quietly.

Kiku turned and saw the blonde girl with glasses, glaring at them intently. "I guess so?" Kiku didn't mind and just focused on the game, telling them the best tactics to win the game.

And they did. They won every game and had a lot of fun. Everyone looked exhausted and sweaty because they were in cosplay. So, Arthur and the rest of the moderators went to buy some water. Kiku decided to come along since he wasn't that tired and wanted to help. They marched towards the convenient store and bought a lot of bottle water.

While they wait, Kiku spotted something interesting in the shelves. 'I can't believe they also sell this here.' Kiku started to chuckle at the lovely item he saw. He happens to be beside a moderator from earlier and just facepalmed.

"Why are you laughing at that?" She asked.

"I'm just surprised, that's all. Fufu." Kiku chuckled.

"Alright I'm done. Let's head back." Arthur held the bags and they went back to the park.

(^J^)

After the event, they decided to take a tour around the mall since it was still early. Everyone started to change in their normal clothes. The moment they saw Kiku, they were surprised of how his face changed compared to his cosplay earlier.

"You have mad make-up skills." Arthur complimented.

"Arigato guzaimasu." Kiku bowed.

"You really are Japanese. Dude tell us more about what you know!" Alfred scooted over him with excitement.

"Sorry guys, we really can't come." Roderick interrupted them. "This was unplanned, and I have not agreed to this. Alice will be coming with me too."

"It's fine. You two take care." Arthur bid them. The two moderators took the taxi and left. While the rest of them enjoyed their time hanging out at the mall to cool.

-End


End file.
